Westport Public Schools - ITL

sample 6th grade performance task from Smarter Balanced

"Smarter Balanced, which awarded a contract in April to a design and development group led by CTB/McGraw Hill, plans on a January 2013 pilot of its test items/tasks. The curious can view recently released annotated examples of the Smarter Balanced performance tasks. "

"For many teachers transitioning from a traditional teaching focus to one that is committed to PBL, contemplating the creation of an interdisciplinary PBL unit might seem ambitious. However, the next step in growing as a PBL practitioner is to integrate a variety of content areas into your project design. Here are some tips to get you started:"

"Often we forget to teach thinking skills to students. Project-based learning (PBL) by design demands that these skills be taught and assessed. Every PBL project has 21st century skills that are taught, assessed, and transferable across various disciplines."

"Read & Write is a free Google Chrome Web App that increases the accessibility of the text of documents in your Google Drive account. After installing the app you will see a Read & Write tab appear at the top of your browser window whenever you have a document open in Google Drive. Clicking that Read & Write tab will open a menu of accessibility options"

create your own campaign ad

"Calling all digital divas, web chix & coder girls! The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing honors young women at the high-school level for their computing-related achievements and interests. The Award offers both national and local "affiliate" competitions to generate support and visibility for women's participation in communities nationwide. THE AWARD IS OPEN NOW THROUGH OCTOBER 31: APPLY NOW!"

"Fact-checking the town hall debate We'll be checking the second presidential debate of 2012. This one is a town hall format, and it's happening in Hempstead, N.Y. Follow us on twitter @politifact for live updates throughout the night. We'll also be updating our site with fact-check reports as we finish them, so check back often. You can also email us ideas at truthometer@politifact.com To look up something during the debate, try our free app, Settle It! PolitiFact's Argument Ender. It's available "

"The Standards: Basic Computer Skills Mac OS X World Wide Web Email Windows Word"

"Nearpod is a service for delivering lessons, quizzes, and polls to students through iPads" blog post about new features of nearpod

educational games in many different subject areas

(must be logged into WPS Google Account to access all resources)

The new iOS 6 has a very simple and powerful tool called Guided Access that lets you keep students focused on a single app of your choosing. It lets you disable the home button, restrict parts of the screen so they can't be touched, and even stop responding to being turned over and upside down. It's easy to implement and a great tool in the teacher's toolkit. Here's how to do it: How To Use Guided Access Go to SETTINGS then tap GENERAL Toward the bottom, tap ACCESSIBILITY and then go to the LEARNING section Now tap on GUIDED ACCESS and switch it to the ON position Want to set up a passcode? You can do that now Now go to the app you want to use. Tap the home button 3 times to launch the Guided Access options Set the options as desired and then tap the home button 3 times again.

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"The Story Map interactive includes a set of graphic organizers designed to assist teachers and students in prewriting and postreading activities. The organizers are intended to focus on the key elements of character, setting, conflict, and resolution development. Students can develop multiple characters, for example, in preparation for writing their own fiction, or they may reflect on and further develop characters from stories they have read. After completing individual sections or the entire organizer, students have the ability to print out their final versions for feedback and assessment. The versatility of this tool allows it to be used in multiple contexts."

"Aesop's Fables Interactive Book"